Knitting machine



Dec. 24, 1935. v. LOMBARDl 2,025,465

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 19, 1934 2 Sheets-Shet 1 INVENTOR,

mlomza rd BY WM/ 4/ z4-..

ATTORNEY.

V. LOMBARDI Dec. 24, 1935.

KNITTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. l9, 1934 INVENTOR,

' ATTORNEY...

atented cc. 135

KNITTING MACHINE Vincent Lombardi, Garden City, N. Y assignor toLombardi Knitting Machine Co, Inc, New York, N. IL, a corporation of NewYork Application December 19, 1934, Serial No. 758,177

17 Claims. (Cl. 66,50)

This invention relates to knitting machines and to correlated subjectmatter.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending applicationSerial No. 720,921, filed April 17, 1934.

An object of the invention is the provision of improved mechanism forembodying a plurality of types of designs in a fabric.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of meanswhereby spring or beard needles may be operated with the utmost speedand certainty for selective actuation of the needles to knit or toreceive a yarn without knitting.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means whereby animproved type of interlock fabric may be produced.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will beexemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of theinvention-reference should be had to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Figure 1 is vertical sectional View of a segment of a form of knittingmachine embodyin the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top view of the pattern wheel utilized; n

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to the upper part of Fig. 1 showing theneedle in another po-- Figs. 8 and 9 are diagrammatic top views showinga mode of sinker operation in connection with Figs. 6 and 7; and

' Figs. 10, 11, and 12 are diagrammatic side views of a manner ofoperation for the production of double interlock fabric. showing thesame needles at successive yarn feeds.

In beard-needle knitting machines it is customary to providebeard-pressing means which operates to press the beards during theoperation of the stitch cam to permit the previously knitted yarn toride over the beards. In instances where it is desired that the needlesreceive an addi tional yarn without knitting, however, it has been 5necessary to employ a special type of beardpressing means, which isinoperative during the passage of the stitch cam. 'In accordance withthe present invention the use of such special means may be avoided andthe usual beard-press l ing means utilized even for tucking,interlocking, and other operations wherein certain needles will receivea yarn without knitting at certain yarn feeds. This may be accomplishedby advancing the needles sufficiently to clear the stitch l cam, andretracting them only after the operation of the beard-pressing means. Inthis manner an ordinary beard-needle machine can be operated for avariety of knitting operations without modification other than by theprovision of suitable selective needle-advancing means, and of a cam. orother means to retract the needles passed by the stitch cam. In thismanner also it is possible to equip knitting machines of various typesto enable them to produce a wide 'variety of types of fabrics embbdyinga number of pleasing. designs. In accordance with the invention also itis possible to produce an interlock fabric wherein the interlocked yarnis more tightly drawn in a relatively loosely knit looped portion thanhas hitherto been possible.

While the'invention is adapted to be embodied in machines wherein theknitting bed may be of any desired type and wherein it is eitherstationary or movable, the invention is exemplified, for the sake ofsimplicity, as embodied in a machine wherein the needle bed is astationary cylinder. While various of selective needle-advancing meansand other elements may be utilized, the particular machine exemplifiedutilizes 40 means and elements such as disclosed in my, copendingapplication, Serial No. 720,921 above re- I ferred to. e

In Figs. 1-4 there is shown a needle cylinder S, in the slots it ofwhich there are disposed beard needles ll having spring beards i2.Mounted in each slot forthe selective advancement of the needle is aselective element in the form of a rocker l3 arranged to be swung on asurface l4 and provided with a central bend whereby it is frictionallyheld within the slot. Each rocker is 1 formed with upper and lowershoulders i6 and i1, each adapted to be engaged by a cam 08 forselective action. As will be seen, when the rocker i3 is in a fullcounter-clockwise position neither shoulder will be engaged by the cam;when the rocker is in a full clockwise position the lower shoulder willbe engaged by the cam to advance the rocker and the needle with it tothe fullest extent; and when the rocker is in an intermediate positionthe cam will engage the uppermost shoulder to advance the needle asmaller distance. Each needle is provided with a butt I9 adapted to beoperated upon by a stitch cam 20. Beardpressers 2| of the usual typeoperated by a cam 22 are adapted to close the beards of the needlesretracted by the stitch cam, but not to close the beards if the needlesare retracted at a later point. The needles are adapted to receive yarnfrom .a

yarn carrier 23, assisted by sinkers 24, when they are either in anuppermost or in an intermediate advanced position. The sinkers serve toassure that the yarn passes to the rear of whatever needles are still ina retracted position. Beyond the stitch cam, at a point such that thebeardpressers will not then be operative. upon, the beards of theneedles, is a further retracting cam 25 w ch retracts those needleswhich are in an uppe most position and have been passed by the stitchcam. Accordingly, it will be seen that if a needle is in a lowermostposition, it will not receive the yarn; if the needle is in anintermediate position, it will receive the yarn and be caused by thestitch cam and the beard-presser to cast a previously knitted yarn; butif the needle is in an uppermost position, it will pass the stitch camand be retracted by the cam 25 in such manner that the previouslyreceived yarn will not be cast. The arrangement is, therefore, adaptedfor the production of a wide variety of patterns, and is also welladapted for the production of interlock fabric by beard needles. Forinterlocking it is merely necessary to have certain needles, forinstance, alternate needles, in a lowermost position and intermediateneedles in an uppermost position at one yarn feed, as shown in thecenter of Fig. 5, and to have all these needles in an intermediateposition at the succeeding yarn feed.

In the present instance the rockers I? are arranged to be selectivelyoperated by means of the pattern wheel 26 carrying actuator elements 2'!of different effective lengths selectively disposed on its periphery.Ordinarily the pattern wheel is provided with a series ofactuator-receiving portions, and actuator elements of one length aredisposed in certain of these portions, actuator elements of anotherlength are disposed in another of these portions, and still other ofthese portions are left without actuator elements, as will be seen fromFig. 2.

In order to obtain a better spacing of the actuator elements theactuator-receiving portions are arranged alternately in two planes asindicated in Figs. 1 and 2; alternate rockers being provided withco-operative portions 28 on one plane, and the other rockers beingprovided with co-operative portions 29 on another plane. The patternwheel is geared to the central portion of the rock ers as indicated at30. A pattern wheel having actuator elements in a single plane may beutilized, if desired, although the arrangement shown has certainadvantages, particularly in fine gage machines as indicated in myco-pending application, Serial No. 5,216, filed February 6, 1935. Aswill beapparent a roller or other suitable means acting on the lowerpart of the rocker as indicated at 3| in Fig. 6 and at 32 in Fig. '7 maybe utilized to cam the rockers so that they are all in a fullcounter-clockwise position prior to the passage of the pattern wheel.

' As above indicated, one of the advantages of the invention is the easewith which a beardneedle machine may be adapted for the production of aninterlock fabric. An interlock fabric may be defined for the purposes ofthe present case as a fabric wherein a yarn or set of yarns isinterknitted in a manner utilized in knitting jersey cloth and whereinanother yarn or set of yarns is caught between the loops in one row andthe loops in an adjacent row, in alternate, or at 10 least in closelyspaced, wales thereof, and is knitted to form one or more loops inanother portion of the row. Types of interlocking operations areexemplified in my Patents Nos. 1,541,230 and 1,728,293 from which afurther understand- .ing of interlocking may be had. In order to stillfurther facilitate the understanding of the production of an interlockfabric on a beard-needle machine having the ordinary type ofbeard-pressers in accordance with the invention, one form ofinterlocking operation is exemplified in Figs. 6-9 wherein there areprovided two yarn carriers 23a and 23b. The yarn carrier 23a may 'feed awhite yarn or a wool yarn for example, and the yarn carrier 231) mayfeed a red yarn or a rayon yarn 25 for example. Directly following eachyarn feed is a stitch cam. These stitch cams are indicated at 20a and201) respectively. Cams 22a, and 22?) are provided to operate the beardpressers similar to the beard pressers 2| during the operation of thecams 20a and 202) on the needle butts. Following the cam 20a is a highercam 25a, and following 201) is a higher cam 25b. Needle-advancing cams18a and I3!) are provided for selective action on the rockers I3. Aswill be'seen from Fig. 6, prior to the passage of the yarn feed 23a,certain groups of needles will be advanced to an intermediate positionso as to receive the white yarn and after the passage of the yarn feedwill be retracted by the cam 20a during the operation 40 0f the beardpressers under the influence of the presser cam 22a, so that the whiteyarn will be drawn through previously formed loops to knit. Such needlesare indicated in association with the rockers m-1'. In other groupsalternate or other closely spaced needles such as at a, c, e, g, 2, k,s, u, will be fully advanced, while intermediate needles are leftretracted as at b, d, f, h, 7', Z, t, u, w, r. The fully advancedneedles will be retracted by the cam 25a at a time when the beardpressers are no longer operative. These will retain the white yarn intheir beards along with the previously knitted yarn. The white yarn willbe pressed inwardly by the sinkers M, as indicated at 33 in Fig. 1, sothat when the needles I), d, f, etc. Are again advanced the white yarnwill extend to the rear when ready for interlocking. At the yarn carrier23!), as will be seen from Fig '7 the rockers 11-1 and r-ac, and theirassociated needles are placed in an intermediate position so that theseneedles will receive the red yarn from the yarn carrier 2% and will becaused to draw this yarn through previously formed loops by the actionof the stitch earn 205 and of the beard pressers under the influence ofa presser cam 22b. The white yarn, previously caught by the needles ata, c. e, etc., and held at the front of these needles while extending atthe rear of the needles I), d, 1, etc., will be interlocked between thepreviously formed loops and the newly formed loops of the red yarn. Atthe yarn feed 2312 the needles at m, o and q will be fully advanced toreceive a red yarn for interlocking with the previously formed loops ofwhite yarn whereas the needles 7:, p, and r are left retracted so thatthe red yarn will not be received by them but .will exthat the yarnwhich is interlocked be very tightly drawn while the knitted yarn isrelatively loosely knit. An arrangement of this sort cannot beeffectively obtained however when a single cam is used to retract boththe knitting and interlocking needles, since a lowering ofthis cam toobtain looseness in the knit will also effect a looseness in theinterlocked yarn. In accordance with the invention on the other hand,such an arrangement can be readily effected by extending the stitch camso that it will retract the intermediately advanced needles any desiredamount be-v yond the knitting level and by forming the higher cam sothat it will retract the fully advanced needles only to the knittinglevel. As will be seen from Figs. 6 and '7 the stitch cams 20a and 20bextend downwardly further than the cams 25a and 25b. Cams 34 and 35 areprovided, in the conventional manner, to restore to a point adjacent tothe knitting level those needles retracted by the stitch cam. In thismanner the knitting may be as loose as desired while theverticallymovable pin 31 as indicated on the cams 25a, 25b, 25n, 250, and 25p. Amanner of supporting these cams is indicated more in detail in Fig. 7wherein there is shown a cam-supporting plate 38 which rotatably carriesthe pin 36 and which is formed with an arcuate slot 38 through which aset screw 39 extends into the cam 20!). The plate is also formed with avertical slot-40 into which the pin on the cam 251) extends and with anadditional slot 4| through which a set screw .42 extends into the cam25b.

In Figs. 10, 11, and 12 needle positions for the productionof doubleinterlock fabric of the general character disclosed in my Patent No.1,728,293 are exemplified. In Fig. 10 the rockers and needles of group Aare advanced to an intermediate position and odd numbered rockers andneedles of groups B and C are fully advanced for reception of yarn atyarn feed 2311. At yarn feed 23n odd numbered rockers and needles ofgroup A are fully advanced whereas the rockers and needlesof group B areadvanced to an intermediate position and the even numbered rockers andneedles of group C are fully advanced. At the yarn carrier 23p the evennumbered rockers and needles of group A and B are fully advanced and therockers and needles of group C are advanced to an intermediate position.

It will be appreciated that while rocker actuated needles have beenexemplified, theinvention may be embodied in machine's wherein theneedles are actuated either directly or indirectly by any of a varietyof types of means and in any desired manner, and wherein needlesconstructed in a variety of ways are utilized.

It will thus be seen that a machine embodying the invention may beutilized for the production of single and double interlock fabric andother special fabrics with no other change than the arrangement of theactuating elements in the pattern wheel or other change in the means forthe selective advance of the'needles. The complications involved in theuse of needles having short and long butts or supplemental butts can beentirely avoided and the change from one type of fabric to another ismarkedly simple. Diagonal as well as vertical striping may be readilyproduced and various attractive designs may be embodied in interlock andother fabrics with. the

utmost ease. Tuckingoperations may be conducted with a spring needlemachine as easily as on a latch needle machine regardless of thecomplications of the design. Furthermore interlock fabric wherein theinterlocked yarn is especially tightly drawn, when considered inrelation to the looseness of the knit, may be readily produced inaccordance with the invention. It is to be noted that this feature ofthe invention has marked advantages even when long and short buttneedles and other standard arrangements are utilized.

As will be understood, the invention in various of its aspects isadapted to be embodied in knitting machines having any desired number ofyarn feeds, and in cases where two or three yarn feeds are desirable togive the effect any desired multiple of two or three may be employed.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction anddifferent embodiments of the invention could be made without departingfrom the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in theabove description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention claimed is:

1. Knitting mechanism comprising a series of beard needles, a yarn feed,said series and said yarn feed being mounted for relative movement. astitch cam operative after said yarn feed. beardpressing means operativeduring the operation of said stitch cam, needle positioning meansadapted for operation prior to the passage of said yam feed and adaptedto selectively act on said needles 'to cause certain of said needles tobe'disposed in an advanced position for the retraction thereof by saidstitch cam and other of said needles to be disposed at a furtheradvanced position for the reception of yarn from said yam feed withoutthe retraction thereof by said stitch cam and still other of saidneedles to be disposed in a retracted position such that yarn will notbe received thereby.

2. Knitting mechanism comprising a series of beard needles, a pluralityof yarn feeds, said series and said yarn feeds being relatively movable,beard-pressing means operating after the operation of each of said yarnfeeds, each of said needles being adapted to be positioned in aretracted position in which it will not receive a yarn and in anintermediate advanced position and in a fully advanced position in bothof which it will receive yarn, and needle-positioning means adapted todispose a plurality of adjacent ones of said needles in an intermediateadvanced position prior to the passage of one of said yarn feeds and toretract the same during the operation of the beard-pressingmecnsfollowing said one of said yarn feeds and to dispose certain spaced onesof said plurality of needles in a fully advanced position prior to thepassage of another of said yarn feeds and not to retract the same untilafter an operation of the beard-pressing means following said other ofsaid yarn feeds and to dispose other of said plurality of needles in aretracted position prior to the passage of said other of said yarnfeeds, said needle-positioning means being adapted to act during thesame passage of said yarn feeds to dispose certain spaced ones ofanother plurality of adjacent ones of said needles in a fully advancedposition prior to the passage of said one of said yarn feeds and not toretract the same until after the operation of the beard-pressing meansfollowing said one of said yarn feeds and to dispose other of said otherplurality of needles in a retracted position prior to the passage ofsaid one of said yarn feeds and to dispose other of said other pluralityof needles in an intermediate advanced position. prior to the passage ofsaid other of said yarn feeds and to retract the same during theoperation of the beard pressing means following said other of said yarnfeeds.

3. Knitting mechanism comprising a series of beard needles, a stitchcam, needle advancing means operative prior to the operation of thestitch cam, yarn feeding means operative after the operation of theneedle-advancing means and prior to the operation of the stitch cam,said needle-advancing means acting selectively to advance certain of theneedles in line for the retraction thereof by the stitch cam and foradvancing others of the needles beyond said line so that they will passthe stitch cam without being retracted and to leave additional ones ofsaid needles in a retracted position in which they will not receiveyarn, all the advanced needles being adapted to receive yarn from saidyarn feed, beard-pressing means operative during the operation of thestitch cam, and means operative after the passage of said beard-pressingmeans for retracting said other of said needles, said stitch cam andsaid retracting means being adapted to retract the needles suflicientlyso that they will not receive yarn without further advancement.

4. Knitting mechanism, comprising a yarn feed,

a series of beard needles, beard-pressing means operative at a givenstage in the operation of the mechanism with respect to each needle,means to selectively advance the needles prior to the operation of thebeard-pressing means of the needles being left in a retracted position,means to retract certain of the advanced needles during the operation ofthe beard-pressing means, and means to retract other of the advancedneedles after the operation of the beard-pressing means, each of theadvanced needles being adapted to receive and retain yarn, but a needlein a retracted position being unadapted to receive yarn.

5. Knitting mechanism, comprising a series of beard needles, actuatingmeans, said series and said means being relatively movable, a yarn feedoperative with said actuating means, beard-pressing means forming a partof said actuating means and arranged to press the beards of all needlesretracted during its passage, said beard-pressing means including beardpressers individual to said needles, means operative prior to theoperation of the beard-pressing means for selectively positioning saidneedles so that a plurality thereof are in an advanced position in whichthey will receive yarn from said yarn feed, and so that other of saidneedles will be in a retracted position in which they will not receiveyarn, and means to retract only certain of said plurality of needlesduring the passage of said beard-pressing means.

6. Knitting mechanism, comprising a series of beard needles, a yarnfeed, said series and said yarn feed being mounted for relativemovement,

a stitch cam associated with said yarn feed, beardpressing meansoperative during the operation of said stitch cam, and means operativeduring 5 certain periods in the operation of the mechanism to disposecertain of said needles in position to receive yarn from said yarn feedand to be acted on by said stitch cam and to dispose other of saidneedles in position to receive yarn from said yarn feed but not to beacted on by said stitch cam and to dispose still other of said needlesin position such that no yarn will be received thereby.

7. Knitting mechanism, comprising a series of beard needles, a pluralityof yarn feeds, said series and said. yarn feeds being mounted forrelative movement, a plurality of stitch cams associated respectivelywith said yarn feeds, beard-pressing means operative during theoperation of each of said stitch cams, means for positioning saidneedles so that certain of the needles will receive yarn from one ofsaid yarn feeds but will not be acted upon by its associated stitch camand that at least one of the needles will receive yarn and will becaused to knit by said stitch cam and that still other of the needleswill be in a retracted position such that they will not receive yarn,and means for subsequently positioning a plurality of adjacent ones ofsaid certain needles and said I still other needles so that they willreceive yarn from another of said feeds and will be acted upon by itsassociated stitch cam.

8. Knitting mechanism, comprising a series of beard needles, a pluralityof yarn feeds, said series and said yarn feeds being mounted forrelative movement, a plurality of stitch cams associated respectivelywith said yarn feeds, beardpressing means operative during the operationof each of said stitch cams, means for advancing spaced members of agroup of said needles to a position such that they will receive yarnfrom one of said yarn feeds but will ride over its associated stitch camand for leaving the other needles of said group in a retracted positionsuch that they will not receive yarn, and means for subsequently movinga plurality of adjacent ones of the needles which were so advanced andwhich were so left to a position such that they will receive yarn fromanother of said yarn feeds and willbe acted upon by its associatedstitch cam.

9. Knitting mechanism, comprising a series of beard needles, a pluralityof yarn feeds, said series and said yarn feeds being mounted forrelative movement, a plurality of stitch cams associated respectivelywith said yarn feeds, beardpressing means operative during the operationof each of said stitch cams, means for advancing spaced members of agroup of said needles to a position such that they will receive yarnfrom one of saidyarn feeds but will ride over its associated stitch camand for leaving the other needles of said group in a retracted positionsuch that they will not receive yarn, means for subsequently moving aplurality of adjacent ones of the needles which were so advanced andwhich were so left to a position such that they will receive yarn fromanother of said yarn feeds and will be acted upon by its associatedstitch cam, and means for manipulating one or more other needles at saidyarn feeds in a different manner including the advancement thereof toaposition to be acted upon by said stitch cam at said one of said yarnfeeds.

10. Knitting mechanism, comprising a series of beard needles, each ofsaid needles being adapted to be positioned in a retracted position inwhich it will not receive a yarn and in an intermediate advancedposition and in a fully advanced position in both of which it willreceive a yarn, actuating mechanism including a plurality of yarn feedsand needle-advancing means operative prior to the passage of each yarnfeed, each of said yarn feeds being followed by a stitch cam adapted forretraction of the needles when 7 in an intermediate advanced positionbut for passing fully advanced needles and having beardpressing meansassociated therewith for operation during the operation thereof, andmeans to retract fully advanced needles after the operation of thebeard-pressing means, said series and said actuating mechanism beingmounted for relative movement, said selective needle advancing meansbeing adapted to advance a plurality of adjacent needles to anintermediate position for reception of yarn at one of said yarn feedsand to fully advance certain spaced needles of said pluralityforreception of yarn at a successive yarn feed while intermediateneedles are in a retracted position and to advance to an intermediateposition at a succeeding yarn feed a group of needles including needlespreviously fully advanced and needles left retracted, and said selectiveneedle-advancing means being also adapted to advance a plurality ofother needles to an intermediate position at said successive yarn feedand to fully advance certain spaced needles of the last mentionedplurality while intermediate needles are in a retracted position ata-yarn feed other than said successive yarn feed.

11. Knitting mechanism, comprising a series of beard needles, each ofsaid needles being adapted to be positioned in a retracted position inwhich it will.not receive a yarn and in an intermediate advancedposition and in a fully advanced position in both of which it willreceive a yarn, actuating mechanism including a plurality of yarn feedsand selective positioning means operative prior to the passage of eachyarn feed, each of said yarn feeds being followed by a stitch camadapted for retraction of the needles when in an intermediate positionbut for passing fully advanced needles and having beard-pressing meansassociated therewith for operation during the operation thereof, saidbeard-pressing means being inoperative after the operation of saidstitch cam, said series and said actuating mechanism being mounted forrelative movement, and said selective needle-positioning means beingadapted at one yarn feed to dispose a group of needles in saidintermediate advanced position for knitting and to dispose variousspaced needles of a second and a third group in said fully advancedposition while other needles of the second and third groups remainretracted, and at another yam feed to'dispose needles of said secondgroup in said intermediate advanced position for knitting and to disposevarious spaced needles of said first and third groups in said fullyadvanced position while other needles of the first and third groupsremain retracted, and at still another yarn feed to dispose needles ofsaid third group in said intermediate advanced position for knitting andto dispose various spaced needles of said first and second groups insaid fully advanced position while other needles of the first and secondgroups remain retracted.

12. Knitting mechanism, comprising a needle bed, a series of beardneedles on said bed, a

plurality of yarn feeds, said yarn feeds and said bed being mounted forrelative movement, means connected with said bed providing a knittingline, means to cause a plurality. of adjacent needles to be advanced toreceive a yarn at one 5 yarn feed and to be retracted to a positionmaterially beyond the knitting line to knit loose loops thereof and tocause closely spaced needles of said plurality to be advanced to receivea yarn at another yarn feed and to be retracted to a 1 position not asfar beyond said knitting line and without knitting loops whileintermediate needles remain unadvanced, and meansto cause anotherplurality of adjacent needles to be advanced to receive a yarn at a yarnfeed difierent from said 15 one yarn feed and to be retracted to aposition materially beyond said knitting line to knit loose loopsthereof and to cause closely spaced needles of another plurality to beadvanced to receive a yarn at a yarn feed other than said difierent yarn20 feed and to be retracted to a position not as far beyond saidknitting line and without the knitting of loops.

13. Knitting mechanism, comprising a yarn feed, a series of beardneedles each having a butt, each of said needles being adapted to bepositioned in a retracted position in which it will not receive a yarnand in an intermediate advanced position and in a fully advancedposition in both of which it will receive a yarn, the butts on all ofthe needles being similar and being similarly placed, beard-pressingmeans operative at a given stage in the operation of the mechanism withrespect to each needle, a stitch cam operative upon said butts duringthe operation of the beard-pressing means to retract the needles whenthey are in said intermediate. advanced position, said butts beingadapted to clear the stitch cam when the needles are in said fullyadvanced position, means to selectively position said needles so thatcertain of said needles will be in said fully advanced position andother of said needles will be in said intermediate advanced position andstill other of said needles will be in said retracted position prior tothe operation of the beard-pressing means, and a cam operative on thebutts of the fully advanced needles to retract the same after theoperation of the beardpressing means.

14. Knitting mechanism, comprising a yarn feed, a series of beardneedles each having a butt, each of said needles being adapted to bepositioned in a retracted position in which it will not receive a yarnand in an intermediate advanced position and in a fully advancedposition in both of which it will receive a yarn, the butts on all ofthe needles being similar and being similarly placed, beard-pressingmeans operative at a given stage in the operation of the mechanism withrespect to each needle, a stitch cam operative upon said butts duringthe operation of the beard-pressing means to retract the needles whenthey are in said intermediate advanced position, said butts beingadapted to clear the stitch cam when the needles are in said fullyadvanced position, means to selectively position said needles so thatcertain of said needles will be in said fully advanced position andother of said needles will be in said intermediate advanced position andstill other of said needles will be 7 in said retracted position priorto the operation of the beard-pressing means, and a cam operative on thebutts of the fully advanced needles to retract the same after theoperation of the beard-pressing means, said stitch cam being vancedposition and in a fully advanced position in both of which it willreceive a yarn, beardpressing means operative at a given stage in theoperation of the mechanism with respectto each needle, a stitch camoperative upon said butts during the operation of the beard-pressingmeans to retract the-needles when they are in an intermediate advancedposition, said butts being.

adapted to clear the stitch cam when the needles are in a fully advancedposition, means to selectively advance the needles prior to theoperation of the beard-pressing means, a cam operative on the butts ofthe fully advanced needles to retract the same after the operation ofthe beardpressing means, and means for varying the relative positions ofthe ends of said cams which determine the extent of retraction of theneedles so as to vary the tightness of yarn manipulated by needles undercontrol of the respective cams.

16. Knitting mechanism, comprising a series or beard needles, a stitchcam, needle advancing means operative prior to the operation of thestitch cam, yarn feeding means operative after the operation of theneedle-advancing means and prior to'the operation of the stitch cam,said needle-advancing means acting selectively to adneedles inaretracted position in which they will not receive yarn, all the advancedneedles being adapted to receive yarn from said yarn feed,beard-pressing means operative during the operation of the stitch cam,means operative after the passage of said beard-pressing means forretracting said other of said needles, said stitch cam and saidretracting means being adapted to retract the needles sufiiciently sothat they will not receive yarn without further advancement, a 10'series of sinkers, and means to cause the sinkers to be in a retractedposition during the operation of said retracting means.

17. Knitting mechanism comprising a series of beard needles, a yarnfeed, said series and said yarn feed being mounted for relativemovement,

a stitch cam operative after said yarn feed, beard-pressing meansoperative during the operation of said stitch cam, needle positioningmeans adapted for operation prior to the passage of said yarn feed andadapted to selectively act on said needles to cause certain of saidneedles to be disposed in an advanced position for the retractionthereof by said stitch cam and other of said needles to be disposed at afurther advanced position for the reception of yarn from said yarn fedwithout the retraction thereof by said stitch cam and still other ofsaid needles to be disposed in a retracted position such that yarn willnot be received thereby, and means operative after the operation of saidbeard pressing means for retracting needles from said fully advancedposition, said stitch cam being adapted to retract the needles to apoint below the knitting line to knit loose loops thereof, and ,saidretracting -means for the fully advanced needles being adapted toretract the needles substantially to said knitting line.

VINCENT LOMBARDI.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,025,465. December 24', 1935 VINCENT LOMBARDI It is herebycertified that error appears in the printed specification of the abovenumbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 4, first column,line 48, claim 4, after "means" insert certain; page 6, second column,line 27, claim 17, for "fed" read feed; and that the said Letters Patentshould be read with these corrections therein that the same may conformto the record of the case in the Patent Office. H

Signed and sealed this 18th day of February, A. D. 1936.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

